Rumblings xtra: Items that didn't make print edition

Of all of the Indians starters with their eyes on the fifth spot in the team’s
rotation, early signs point to Carlos Carrasco as the odds-on favorite to win the job. Carrasco
didn’t play for the Tribe last season after having Tommy John surgery on his elbow in September,
2011. But he showed encouraging signs of recovery last September in his brief appearance with
Double-A Akron in the Eastern League playoffs, hitting 94 to 97 mph on the radar gun.

Reports indicate that he has looked strong throwing on the side so far this spring – the Tribe
opens the Cactus League season today against the Reds – and team officials believe he has a strong
shot at the fourth or fifth spot in the rotation.

The starting rotation is considered the team’s weak spot; the Tribe’s 5.25 team ERA was second
worst in the American League last season. But Indians officials are probably also rooting for
Carrasco for another reason: He is likely the last chance to salvage a star player from the 2009
trade of 2008 Cy Young Award winner Cliff Lee to Philadelphia. Besides Carrasco, the Indians
received pitcher Jason Knapp (released in 2009), infielder Jason Donald (traded to the Reds this
winter) and current Indians backup catcher Lou Marson from the Phillies in the trade.

Dusty Baker doesn’t seem as concerned about Shin-Soo Choo’s ability to play
center-field as some others are. While Choo has seen limited action in center during his major
league career, the Reds manager made it sound like versatile fourth outfielder Chris Heisey isn’t
going to see much time as a late inning defensive replacement there.

“In my opinion, Heisey is a better corner man,” Baker told the team’s beat writers this week. “
If Heisey was that center fielder/leadoff man, we wouldn’t have had to get Choo. (Heisey) can play
(centerfield) in a pinch and he can play it sometimes.”

Heisey will be the team’s fourth outfielder and he is expected to get 300 at-bats spelling Jay
Bruce in left, Ryan Ludwick in right and occasionally Choo in center. He will probably crack the
lineup most when the opposition starts a left-hander. Heisey hit .274 against southpaws last
season. Bruce hit .225 and Choo hit .199. Ludwick hit .263 and Bruce did have a team-high 11 home
runs against lefties.

The Bengals have a decision to make concerning their franchise tag: Offensive
tackle Andre Smith and defensive end Michael Johnson are both free agents and both are good enough
to merit that status.

If Cincinnati tags Smith, it will cost the $9.66 million this year, but he has arguably been the
best right tackle in the league the last two seasons and the Bengals would have a difficult time
replacing him. The case can also be made for Johnson, who finished second on the team with 11.5
sacks last season, almost double his previous high of six. But as recently at 2011, he lost his
starting job to Frostee Rucker. Rucker played for Cleveland last season and has since been
released. NFL teams can apply the franchise tag beginning on Monday and have until March 4 to use
it.

Maryland’s 247 web site, InsideMDSports, reported this week that the three
Atlantic Coast Conferences could move to the Big Ten and that North Carolina already has an offer.
Of the other ACC members, the report said that Virginia and Georgia Tech are the most likely to
move. The same site was the first to report that Maryland and Rutgers would join the conference,
which they subsequently did.

Penn State posted an update of the cost of legal fees and consulting bills from
the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal on its website and the new tab is $27;6 million. Reports
say that the costs, which don’t include the $60 million fine imposed by the NCAA, will continue to
grow. The school is in the midst of complicated negotiations of civil suits related to the case,
and legal analysts predict that Penn State will do everything possible to resolve the suits outside
of a courtroom.